


furever home

by orphan_account



Series: One Shots & Shorts [20]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Catboys, Dogboy Shiro, Dogboys, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, catboy keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:25:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16766893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Shiro's a dog, Keith's a kitty - maybe they can get along





	furever home

**Author's Note:**

> This is for [None](https://twitter.com/nonixnil)! Happy Birthday bb!! I'm so soft for your nya!Keith so here is kitty boy Keith and doggo boy Shiro being silly!

The new cat smells of distrust, anger, and the Bad Place.   
  
The place where unwanted catboys and dogboys go when they’ve been bad. Shiro’s only been to the Bad Place once but he was quickly adopted by his current owner. Hunk Garrett likes to cook and Shiro likes to try all of the good food smells coming from the kitchen at all hours of the day and night. He’s not even sure Hunk sleeps. Ever. 

The new cat is gangly and skinny and he immediately hides in Hunk’s closet when he’s brought home. Hunk tells Shiro to  _ leave the kitty be, Takashi _ , so Shiro is a good boy and leaves the kitty alone. For one whole week, Keith mostly hides – that’s the kitty’s name, Keith – but after a week Shiro wakes up to the sound of someone else in the room.

He lifts his head and sniffs the air until his eyes adjust and he sees Keith on the other side of the room, frozen and staring at him. His eyes glow in the dark and he’s one paw into a box Hunk left sitting out but hasn’t moved to climb all the way in yet. Shiro wags his tail and jumps to his feet but the motion sends Keith panicking and he’s immediately on top of the bookshelf before Shiro can stop him.

“Hey,” Shiro says as he approaches and Keith hisses, showing off white, sharp little fangs. Shiro plops down onto his butt to stare up at Keith curiously. “I don't bite.”

“Fuck off,” Keith snarls. 

Shiro whines and his ears drop back sadly. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you.” Shiro slowly picks at a bit of carpet fluff. “I just want to be friends.” 

“I don’t  _ like _ dogs,” Keith replies. “They’re mean, they smell, they’re big, and I hate them.” Keith hisses again to reiterate his point. 

Shiro whines but slowly returns to his spot on the couch. Keith remains on top of the bookshelf until after a while Shiro can hear him attempting to climb down. He opens one eye and watches as the cat attempts to climb down but quickly chickens out and stays frozen on top of the shelf. He snorts and sits up.

“Do you need help?” Shiro asks and tries not to sound as if he’s finding any sort of enjoyment out of the struggle. 

“No,” Keith snaps back and once again tries to wiggle his way down but stops and scrambles back to the top. He pauses and tries to figure out a different way down but quickly gives up. His tail and ears go limp in defeat. “...Yes.” 

Shiro slowly eases up to his feet and walks over to offer Keith a hand. Gently and carefully, he eases he cat to the floor and dusts him off. Keith’s ears fall back in quiet defense but after a moment he seems to relax. He even leans forward to sniff Shiro’s shirt so Shiro stands perfectly still. He doesn’t want to cause any more trouble and he’s seen the kitty’s claws - they’re sharp.

“Do you think we could be friends?” Shiro asks after Keith doesn’t run away from him but keeps sniffing curiously, his ears still back, however. He looks on edge, ready to bolt at any moment. 

“I don’t like dogs,” Keith replies and finally walks away, his tail swishing in the air as he goes to bury himself in the blankets Hunk set out for him. Shiro’s stayed away from Keith’s corner and Keith is finally ready to make it his own. 

Well, Shiro supposes, that’s progress. 

* * *

  
  


Four weeks ago by and Keith is definitely more active around the house - and by active, Shiro means he likes to do laps at three in the morning when everyone else is trying to sleep. Not to mention the yowling at the back door, the growling, and hissing over his food, and the scratching on the furniture.

Keith is a true menace of the Garrett and Shirogane household.

Morning arrives and Shiro drags himself from his bed to go sit in the kitchen - he’s even allowed at the table - to stare tiredly into an empty coffee cup. At this point, he needs a coffee bowl over a cup. Hunk comes in and doesn’t even say anything, just pats his head, scratches his ears, and then pours them both large cups of coffee. Hunk doctors Shiro’s with some cream and sugar and they sit together to have coffee before Hunk goes to make them both breakfast. 

“Takashi, can you go find, Keith? Tell him it’s time for breakfast.” 

Shiro nods sleepily, wishing the coffee would work immediately, before dragging his feet down the hall toward where Keith likes to sleep. His favorite spot is in Hunk’s room under the bed. Shiro pushes open the door and then gasps at the scandal. Keith is  _ on _ the bed. 

_ On the bed.  _

Even  _ he’s _ not allowed  _ on _ the bed but there is Keith, curled up at on the end like the laziest, meanest cat in the world.

“Hey,” Shiro snarls and walks up to give Keith a shake which makes the feline startle. “You’re not allowed on the bed!” 

Keith yawns, revealing his needle teeth, and stretches his legs and arms out slowly. ‘Who says, fleabag?” Keith asks.

“ _ Hunk _ ,” Shiro replies. “You know, our  _ owner _ . He makes the rules.”

Keith shrugs. “So?” he replies and scratches his stomach casually. 

Shiro also notes Keith is missing his collar. “Where is your collar? Did you take it off?” 

“I dunno, I lost it somewhere. Got caught.” Keith mimes the collar ripping off but Shiro doubts his claim since Keith hates collars and anything proving ownership. 

Shiro folds his arms over his chest and feels ruffled by Keith’s clear disobedience. “It’s time for breakfast. Not that bad kitties should be allowed to have breakfast.” 

Keith flips him off which only makes Shiro’s jaw drop in complete scandalized shock. Keith flicks his tail under Shiro’s nose and saunters off to the kitchen. By the time Shiro has regained enough of his composure to join them, he finds Keith sitting in  _ his _ chair and enjoying a huge heaping pile of bacon and eggs. 

“Hey!” Shiro gasps but Hunk pulls up another chair for him. 

“Here you go, Takashi.” Hunk gently pats his ears again and sets down a plate of eggs with cheese but no bacon in sight. “Sorry, buddy, Keith was starving so I let him have the rest of the bacon. I”ll have to get us more today at the store.”

Shiro growls at Keith when Hunk returns to the stove but Keith continues to eat his plate of bacon with a prideful glimmer in his eye. The eggs with cheese are delicious and Shiro always appreciates every meal from Hunk but the cat has gone too far. No longer a cute kitty, Keith is a demon spawn, and Shiro is not a fan. 

Hunk joins them for breakfast and praises Keith on his bravery for joining them at the table and eating all of his breakfast. Gives him  _ chin scratches _ . Makes Shiro sick. 

“I have to go to the store today, so, both of you behave while I’m gone,” Hunk says as he cleans up from breakfast. “I might be gone for a while, there are a few sales I want to hit. Takashi, don’t answer the door or open it to any strangers.” 

Shiro nods because when Hunk is gone,  _ he’s _ in charge of the house, which means he’s in charge of the cat. “Okay.” 

“Good boy.” Hunk makes sure he has his keys and wallet and then the house is just him and Keith. 

Keith. 

He’s sitting on the floor, cleaning his face and ears with his tongue which Shiro never quite understood about cats. He wonders if they lick their bottoms, too. 

“You didn’t need all the bacon,” Shiro mutters darkly. 

Keith snorts. “Greedy pooch.” 

“ _ You’re _ the greedy one,  _ cat _ .” He wants to be nice to Keith because his greater instincts tell him to be nice but clearly, Keith is taking advantage of their situation. “You’re awful! I hope Hunk takes you back to the Bad Place!” 

Keith’s smug look disappears and his ears immediately fall back. The look of fear in his eyes is enough to make Shiro’s heart collapse down through his gut. Maybe, he’d gone a little too far. “Will he?” Keith whispers and Shiro flinches at the worry in Keith’s voice. 

He remembers the Bad Place, even if his stay had only been brief. “Keith, I-.” 

“ _ Will _ he?!” 

“No!” Shiro gasps. “Hunk isn’t like that-.”

“That’s what they all say,” Keith replies and his voice is bitter and cold. “They  _ all _ say ‘this is your forever home, we’ll never send you back’. ‘Don’t worry, this is your forever family!’ It’s all lies. I guess if this is like that, I’ll just go now-.”

“No, wait, please!” Shiro jumps from the couch to join Keith on the floor and dare to look abashed. “How many times have you been there? The Bad Place?” 

“How many times have  _ you _ ?” Keith counters. 

“Once,” Shiro whispers. 

“Try twenty.”

He’d heard of a few catboys and dogboys going back and forth a few times but  _ twenty _ times? That had to be some kind of record. “Twenty– twenty times?” Shiro stammers. “That’s so many.” 

Keith wraps his arms around himself along with his tail while his ears remain back and drooping. “Twenty times. Twenty different owners. Some better than others but they’re all the same. Hunk seemed different. He didn’t give the forever home spiel or the forever family spiel. He just came in and sat down with all the catboys until he saw me in the corner. He sat with me and… and he picked  _ me _ . Said he had a dog at home.” 

Shiro snorts a little. “Bet you hated that idea.” 

“I don’t like dogs,” Keith replies which they’ve already well established. “But only because the last dog I met tried to rip my face off. The owner took me back, bleeding all over, and claimed it was  _ my _ fault their dog attacked me.”

Shiro’s eyes widen at the admission and his eyes fall onto the scar on Keith's cheek. “Is that where…” 

The cat nods. “He gave me this.” Keith touches his cheek. “Hurt like hell. You don’t seem so bad, I guess.” 

Keith almost calling him a  _ good boy _ makes his tail wag automatically. “Keith, I won’t let anyone take you back to the Bad Place ever again.”

Keith glances up at him and seems unsure. “How can you promise that?” 

“Because they’ll have to get through me to take you. I  _ promise _ . This is your home now. With me.” Shiro offers his right paw for Keith to take. “Shake on it?”

“I’ve been mean to you-.” 

“You’ve had it rough,” Shiro replies. “I get it. Do we have a deal? I have your back, you have mine?” There is a moment where Keith looks extremely unsure but finally, they shake paws and Keith even curls up closer to him and starts to purr. The purr is soft and a little rough - hitching and stopping and starting - but Shiro likes Keith’s imperfect purr. There’s something endearing about Keith he can’t quite place but he hopes they can remain friends. 

“Do you want to watch TV?” Shiro asks and Keith nods. “Okay, I’ll show you how to use it.” 

Keith curls up beside him on the couch, still purring, and Shiro grabs a blanket for them to cuddle beneath. They pick a cooking show – Shiro loves cooking shows because of Hunk – and soon Shiro feels Keith start to drift off to sleep. He smiles softly and quietly pets Keith’s ears. 

Never again will this kitty have to go to the Bad Place. Shiro won’t let that happen. Once in the Garrett-Shirogane household,  _ always _ in the Garett-Shirogane household. 

Even if Keith does like to run laps at three in the morning. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/pining_sheith) and [tumblr](http://pining-sheith.tumblr.com/)


End file.
